Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

public health issue

Water test results show no asbestos fibres in Medicine Hat water system

Water test results show no asbestos fibres in Medicine Hat water system

There are no detectable levels of asbestos in Medicine Hat’s drinking water according to test results from ALS Laboratory Group in Cincinnati, Ohio. A recent episode of CTV network’s W5 program focused on the use of asbestos-cement (A-C) pipe in water distribution systems across Canada. Contributors claimed a potential public health issue if asbestos fibres from A-C pipe enter the water stream and were ingested. Information related to Medicine Hat’s water distribution system was included in the episode.

Free well testing could be part of larger water discussion, says minister

Free well testing could be part of larger water discussion, says minister

A P.E.I. woman who has been lobbying for years for free well water testing may finally get what she has been looking for as part of larger discussions around the new Water Act. Little Sands resident Lynda Kelly has been writing to various provincial officials making the case for one free water test a year. Kelly said it is an important public health issue, and the $40 cost of the test may be enough to put some people off.

Ontario First Nations chief hails federal funding to end five long-term drinking water advisories

Ontario First Nations chief hails federal funding to end five long-term drinking water advisories

The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation is expanding its water system to deliver clean drinking water to hundreds of residents who have been grappling for more than a decade with seven drinking water advisories. The Bay of Quinte is on Lake Ontario and the First Nation is not remote or isolated. It’s just off Ontario’s Highway 401, between Toronto and Montreal. Chief R. Donald Maracle said his community has suffered from a lack of safe water since 2008, due to fecal, bacterial and algae contaminations. A regional drought made many groundwater wells go completely dry in 2017.

Rural N.L. towns struggling to pay mounting costs of clean drinking water

Rural N.L. towns struggling to pay mounting costs of clean drinking water

On any given day in Newfoundland and Labrador, there are about 200 boil-water advisories in place in rural communities — and it's not only a problem of public health, but of the viability of small towns themselves. Governments have known for decades the seriousness of the situation, but the problem persists, for several reasons, starting with cost.

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